Scarlett Johansson: Keep asking for diversity in Hollywood

Scarlett Johansson has urged people to "keep asking" for diversity in Hollywood.

The 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' star says it is the movies audiences who open up the debate on sexism in the film industry.

She told the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper: "It's awesome to have a diverse group of people in an organisation like that [The Academy]. You need to have different points of view and different perspectives.

"Of course, it's also the studios who ultimately will make the movies, but I think when the audiences speak loudly and tell the studios what they want to watch, there's an ear there.

"The audiences will drive the direction of what is greenlit and put on the fast track. I truly believe that to be true, especially now in the time of social media. The voices cannot be ignored. So I tell people to keep asking, and to keep asking for diversity in Hollywood."

Meanwhile, the 31-year-old actress - who was recently named the highest grossing actress of all time - previously admitted she finds talking about the gender pay gap "icky".

She said: "There's something icky about me having that conversation unless it applies to a greater whole ... I am very fortunate, I make a really good living, and I'm proud to be an actress who's making as much as many of my male peers at this stage ...

"I think every woman has [been underpaid], but unless I'm addressing it as a larger problem, for me to talk about my own personal experience with it feels a little obnoxious. It's part of a larger conversation about feminism in general."